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Why I believe we need more bridges.

A lot of the global issues we face today seem bigger and more urgent than ever. Thinking about these problems often feels daunting, let alone engaging with them. I see a funny dynamic at work here. Our need to feel safe seems to override our urges to make the necessary changes in our lives. Instead we seek comfort in acquiring more safety or distraction in a multitude of pleasures , while slipping further away into this cycle. So now the question becomes: how do we actually face our problems without feeling more pain?

Luckily there have been plenty of people answering this question for decades. I have found groups all over the world to be working hard to change beliefs and behaviours on a systemic level. Some create beautiful examples but remain in isolated bubbles, while others fight for change inside the system but receive massive headwind. To make fast and lasting change we need to confront these global issues on both sides and we need all hands on deck.

I think that in order to get everyone on board we basically just need one simple strategy. We need each person in the room (whatever size) to feel empowered to face these challenges in their own creative ways, and to listen. Obviously we need to step outside of our comfortable bubbles, but only if that actually brings us closer together and closer to ourselves. This asks us to be brave and forgiving at the same time. To step up and reach out. 

“Feeling connected is feeling alive.”

This may all sound like a bunch of hippy mumbo jumbo to you, and you are probably right. But I think the hippies had something going for them: that what we all truly desire most it is simply true connection. Be it through admiration, caring, empathy, fun, or any interaction imaginable. Feeling connected is feeling alive. We might have completely different ways of getting there, but that, I think, is just fine as long as we communicate openly.

All that rests us is finding ways to connect our desires, our ideas and our visions for a better world. Some of the ideas might be more practical, impartial or creative than others, but who is to say really? I think the answer lies in the middle and that we’ll need to engage fully to find out. 

It asks us to be brave and to be honest. And above all, to be better listeners, to each other and to ourselves.

How are you building bridges? How are you keeping your constructions going? Are you forming a tribe? connecting the dots? 

I’d love to hear your perspective.